Steve-o Stonebraker

New falling cat paper just dropped! So I’m now known as the falling cat physics guy, thanks to writing a popular science book on the history of scientists studying how cats land on their feet (“cat turning”) that yo…

New blog post: New falling cat paper just dropped! 🧪 skullsinthestars.com/2026/03/07/n...

The "faster setup" still took a bit on my first game, no doubt. But not an hour. :)

Seems to be available on Amazon US right now?

(Horizons is also much less expensive than non-Horizons version.)

Horizons of Spirit Island Island Spirits join forces using elemental powers to defend their home from invaders.

The BGG capsule says "features the core mechanisms of Spirit Island, but features ... a streamlined set-up ... and five new Spirits designed to be ideal for those playing a Spirit Island game for the first time."

boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36...

There is a slightly-simplified version called Horizons of Spirit Island, but they are also compatible with each other somehow. I haven't played the original.

I wouldn't call Horizons "simple" by any means, but if you liked SI and want a slightly easier one for home or friends, consider it!

A great article about further analysis of the DART mission to smash into the Dimorphos+Didymos system. The "Ejecta Engine" section is especially interesting!

In addition to shortening Didymos's period by 33 min, the system's speed around the Sun changed by 11.7 microns/sec. #ITeachPhysics

bsky.app/profile/band...

Grammarly is using our identities without permission Grammarly’s AI stole my boss’s identity.

Excuse me?!

Grammarly's new "‘Expert Review’ AI agents make suggestions supposedly inspired by subject matter experts, including several staff members here at The Verge... none of whom gave Grammarly permission to include them..."

So sort of like stating the slope of the line it is parallel to, and then which direction along that line?

That obviously COULD be reduced down to one value, but it’s interesting to hear that they typically talk about them as two.

Just below Yoshi near the logo.

A great illustration for students about planes having TWO normal directions and the importance of a convention to define which one is which.

(The guy they interview, Tim Cook, was at BU when I did my brief astro grad school stint there and I remember the Terriers mission being under development.)

Today I Will Look The Burrito Man In The Eye and other stories of manifesting success

Ever wondered who the people behind NYC’s street names are?

A new interactive map reveals the stories behind 2,500 co-named street signs honoring famous New Yorkers—and unsung heroes—across the five boroughs.

Check it out here: on.nyc.gov/4iIjQvY

did u know new sata ssds are mostly empty inside but just the right size for a custom enclosure

I joked to some friends that I relate to the part where the chimps sorted a pile of pebbles into crystal and non-crystal categories.

Chimpanzees Are Really Into Crystals

Here's a #GiftLink to a charming little NYT article: Chimpanzees Are Really Into Crystals

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/s...

My first science video in 3 years YouTube video by Physics Girl

Oh, the video is now up! It's about solar neutrinos. So wonderful to see her talking physics again. #ITeachPhysics #SciComm

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3m3...

The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the Oldest Surviving Animated Feature Film, Is Now in the Public Domain (1926) Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed, or The Adventures of Prince Achmed, lays fair claim to being the earliest animated feature film in existence. If we do grant it that title, it beats the next contende...

The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the Oldest Surviving Animated Feature Film, Is Now in the Public Domain (1926) www.openculture.com/2026/03/the-...

Galileo’s handwritten notes found in ancient astronomy text Discovery sheds new light on how famed astronomer came to lead a scientific revolution

🤓 Galileo’s handwritten notes found in ancient astronomy text

What's scary about this story is the surveillance it hints at. This trans woman had changed her name, legally, but chose not to change her gender marker. She was apparently flagged in the DMV system as trans and her license was invalidated under a law that supposedly only concerned gender markers.

Surely it Breaks The 2nd Law YouTube video by Steve Mould

Never heard of this thing before Steve Mould's new video: vortex tube. A device with no moving parts that separates an incoming stream of air into two output streams, one warmer and the other cooler. #ITeachPhysics #SciComm

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Ja...

WarGames clip - WOPR described YouTube video by zeddity

At long last we have created WOPR, the AI that thinks about nothing but World War III and decides on its own whether the USA will engage in said war, as imagined in the classic 80s film WarGames, or "Why Nobody Should Have A WOPR".

BlueSky your watch for today is the nineties UK TV version of Macbeth for schools. Starring Shaun Pertwee, Greta Scacchi and Shane Ritchie (among others).

It is the most nineties Shakespeare adaption ever. And i have unironically loved it since it first aired.

youtu.be/xiKaGQmYo0A?...

Try disabling all your extensions and see if it still happens?

... he continued... "why doesn't martian manhunter just shrink into a subatomic-sized particle with the same mass as a dragon and suck the Hawkpeople into the black hole he creates"

damn, son

The surprising science of squeaky sneakers YouTube video by nature video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwL1... #ITeachPhysics

Most Conservative Students Don’t Feel Persecuted on Campus A new survey of college students contradicts Republican rhetoric that campus culture is hostile to right-wing views.

Report provides helpful data showing what we knew: students do not feel faculty impose their beliefs on them. Cost of college matters. My additional explanation: the wedge driving public perception of college is anti-black/brown/LGBTQ/intellectual discourse.

www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

I suppose the course audit process could be used to require—on paper at least—certain sorts of readings. But in physics at least (my subject) the audit has basically no validity, it’s just an honor system to protect CB.

I have many issues with the College Board, but I wonder if it’s even possible to write to write an exam which can be administered widely for which this isn’t true? “It’s not and that means APUSH shouldn’t exist” is a valid answer of course.

He really said "I love your spirit, but also people should own homes. Mmhmm, that's a good point you make, but also hoarding real estate costs people lives. Yeah, the snow is beautiful but you know what else is beautiful? Having a roof between you and it."

🤣🤣🤣👑